Carlos R. Porras

WORCESTER - Carlos R. Porras, 81, passed on Sunday, October 1st at the UMASS Memorial Hospital in Worcester surrounded by his family. A native of Colombia, Carlos was born in Barrancabermeja, a small, oil refining town located in the Amazon. His parents, Rafael Porras and Elvira Porras Giordanelli owned a pasteurizing plant that supplied the town with fresh, quality milk. Carlos was sent off to boarding school at the tender age of 8 because his parents felt he could not get a good education in their town. He ended up living with an uncle’s family in the capital Bogota and completing his high school there.

Carlos’s maternal grandfather was from southern Italy and he felt a very strong connection to Italy. He decided to move to southern Italy to attend the University of Bari, not speaking a word of Italian. He was quite shocked when he first arrived in Bari because the city was so much more conservative than the cosmopolitan Bogota. Carlos became fluent in Italian and graduated at the top of his class in Economics and Finance. He made lifelong friends there that he has to this day.

Though he wanted to stay in Italy after graduation, Carlos had to return to Barranca to help his ailing father run the pasteurization plant. After the death of his father and the selling of the plant, he decided to move with his first wife Patricia and their young son Santiago, to New Hampshire where his older sister Alix had settled with her family and his mother was now living. When Carlos first arrived in the US, he supported his family by doing odd jobs like sorting mail and delivering newspapers while he learned English. Once he felt he had some fluency in English, he applied for jobs in banking and worked as a loan officer for many years in different banks across New England.

It wasn’t until Carlos was almost fifty that he found his true calling in life. He and his younger sister Victoria decided to launch a company, Victory Productions, that developed educational materials in Spanish. Carlos was an avid reader who loved literature and poetry particularly by South American, Italian and Spanish writers. Becoming a Spanish translator and editor for the company enabled him to use his love of language and he worked on a broad range of topics in all types of books.

From just a handful of people working out of the back of Victoria’s husband’s dental practice in Paxton, the company grew to over 40 employees and was housed in an office building in Worcester. They began developing materials in English as well as Spanish. Carlos worked at Victory until he retired in 2020 as the head of the Spanish Department.

Carlos’s first marriage ended shortly after moving to the U.S. and after a period of time, Carlos started a new family when he was almost 60. In February of 2001, he and his wife Rebecca welcomed a daughter, Daniella Maria and settled in Worcester. Carlos was a family man who was a devoted father to his children, a caring and loving husband, brother, uncle, cousin and son.

Carlos will be deeply missed and lovingly remembered by his wife Rebecca, his beloved children Daniella and Santiago, his daughter-in-law Emily, his older sister Alix, her children Alexandra and Owen and her grandchildren, Alec, Kayla and Jimmy, his brother-in-law Art and a very large extended family that spans 3 continents.

A wake for Carlos will be held on Sunday, October 8th, from 3:00 to 5:00 pm at the Miles Funeral Home, 1158 Main St., Holden. A funeral service will be held at St. Mary’s Church, 114 Princeton St., Jefferson on Monday, October 9th, at 11:00 am.

To share a memory or offer a condolence, please visit his tribute wall.